Monday, December 10, 2012

I'm glad to have completed this watercolor before December 25th. It's my visual Christmas card to everyone. All that's left is the title. I'm thinking "New Snow" or "Cascade Mountain Deer". Let me know which one you like.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Yikes...these deer have been a challenge to paint, especially the foreshortened face of the doe. I usually don't focus on one area of the painting, but move around to develop several areas. In the case of animals, if their image doesn't start out right, why continue? (That's when I flip the botched watercolor over, and use the fresh, unused side of the paper. No waste, and another chance to bring my depiction to light.)

Every painting I start is like completing a puzzle. Each one has unique demands to solve. I'll post more on this winter scene as I make progress.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

I thought I would show how I go about developing a watercolor. I started by put a masking agent on the foreground and deer, and painted in a loose background. The masking was then removed, and I painted a light wash of raw sienna in the shadowed areas of the animals. My process is one of applying layers of pigment glazes to achieve rich colors and depth.

I've never painted deer as the main focus of a piece. Challenging, but exciting!